Aoba was the name ship of her class. Kinugasa was the other. Mitsubishi laid her down at Nagasaki on 4 February 1924, launched her on 25 September 1926, and completed her on 20 September 1927. The photograph shows the wreck at Kure on 9 October 1945. The picture below was taken soon after she was completed.
At the Coral Sea she was Rear Admiral Goto's flagship, with the light carrier Shoho. On 7 May aircraft from Yorktown and Lexington sank Shoho. Aoba was not sunk.
On the night of 8-9 August 1942 she was second in Mikawa's column at Savo Island, and still Goto's flagship. Japanese gunfire and torpedoes, not pinned to one ship, wrecked Canberra, blew in Chicago's bow, and sank Quincy, Vincennes, and Astoria. Aoba was not sunk. Mikawa turned back before he reached the transports. The next day the submarine S-44 sank Kako. That was not Aoba.
On the night of 11 October 1942 she was Goto's flagship again, at Cape Esperance, with Furutaka and Kinugasa. American ships caught the column. Aoba was hit hard and was not sunk. Goto was mortally wounded and died the next day. Furutaka and the destroyer Fubuki were sunk that night. Those losses are not credited to Aoba.
American aircraft sank her in shallow water at Kure in late July 1945. She was bombed on 24 July and again on 28 July. The stern broke off. The photograph shows what was left on 9 October 1945. She was raised and scrapped in 1946.
